AMELIA

Reviews

‘I would give this play and production 5 stars with no hesitation!‘

A truly fascinating show which engaged me and my 12 year old daughter (no mean feat!) from start to finish. It was really well staged in the round to keep the energy of the piece moving and draw the audience into the twists and turns of the story. The well chosen simplicity of props and set worked beautifully to bring the play to life and the acting nailed every moment. It was a story I thought I knew well but the script and acting brought so many astonishing details to light and kept me totally gripped. In particular the use of three Amelia’s was a stroke of genius – they not only cleverly allowed the very contradictory sides of the aviator to be embodied with real depth but also the way they interacted and interrupted each other and built on what each one was saying gave the piece a real drive and momentum which brilliantly encapsulated the force of nature of Amelia Earhart. I would give this play and production 5 stars with no hesitation!

Jenny Eastop, Artistic Director/Producer (3 times Offie nominated for Best Director), Mercurius Theatre (8 times Offie nominated)

‘Claire Parker is a writer’s dream producer/director/risk-taker’

As a playwright my job is to get as compelling a story down on paper/into the computer as I can, so that the person reading it is compelled to bring it in front of an audience. My responsibility is to the former. The latter requires a visionary producer and director (who in turn brings in the other magic makers: the performers, artisans and crew). While I fancy myself a creative in my own right, I could NEVER stage one of my plays or shows (or anyone else’s!) in a way that would engage and thrill the theater-goers. But Claire Parker sure can. She is a writer’s dream producer/director/risk-taker. 

I was thrilled when Claire asked to read my script for “Amelia” (about pilot Earhart). I had written it in 2002 for my dear friend Kathleen Curtin in Baltimore, as a one-hander. Kathy performed that production beautifully (and hats off to any performer who takes on a solo show). It was Kathy who introduced Claire to me. After reading the script, Claire asked me the beginning of a series of questions she would ask all the way through the preparation period, the casting and the rehearsal process:

“Wondering what you would think of….”

“I have an idea and want to run it by you….”

“Tell me your reaction to…”

She had this intriguing notion of splitting the acting responsibilities across three actors who would each take on a key attribute of Amelia. Sold! Then she mentioned music. Not incidental music, but songs that the three Amelia’s would sing (The Boswell Sisters of the 1930s) during the course of the play. Um. Yes! And one of the actors happens to play the ukulele. But of course she does! Let’s do it.

Claire is also a marvelous dramaturg and co-creator. With the utmost kindness and precision, she would tell me how she felt the script could be further sculpted to bring out the best of the story I’d written, to capitalize on the amazing talents of the three actors, and to give it new rhythms. Writers can be prickly (I am to some extent). And directors are well-aware of the writer that says “absolutely not.” This never happened with us. I suppose in part because I happen to love good directors with good ideas – and the collaborative part of theater-making (otherwise go and write a novel) – but mostly because Claire is a playwright’s dream producer/director/risk-taker. As I sat in the audience, I turned to my friend and asked “who wrote this?” It was a thrilling moment. Yes, I’d written the words the actors were saying, but I definitely had a co-creator for this particular production. Kudos to Claire Parker and her visionary LynchPin Theatre.

George Purefoy Tilson, playwright